Clean House: You Can't Clean Your Own House

October 23rd, 2022/Casey Middle School

Story: Adam Pope and I sharpened our faith as a couple of kids. the fear of the Lord and reverence of His glory.

Question: What do you think of when you think of the word “holy”?

Holiness in Hebrew is Kodesh or the root word “Kadash” and it means unique or different. Another way to say it is “set apart for a specific purpose.” The holiness of God is divine and transcendent, it is beyond our comprehension and yet at the same time, it is something we are to chase after as our purpose on this earth.

So how does one understand holiness and even more than that, how can we pursue holiness today?

Bible Project Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9vn5UvsHvM

Holy and holiness is mentioned more than 900 times in the Bible. It is the most common attribute mentioned in all the OT & NT. It is a big deal. It’s not a good idea, or a positive option, it is at the core of the Christian life.

Passage: 1 Peter 1:13-25 CSB

13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy. 17 If you appeal to the Father who judges impartially according to each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in reverence during your time living as strangers. 18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you. 21 Through him you believe in God,who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly, 23 because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.

Pray:

Title: You Can’t Clean Your Own House

Big Idea: AIM or CIT

Main Points:

1. Ready Your Mind For Action

   1. 13 Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.

   2. Ready your mind, you could also say “have a disciplined mind as you look to the coming of Christ.”

      1. “Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!” - 1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭MSG

         3. We should not only be disciplined in our mind, but we should be sober as well, recognizing that there is an enemy on the prowl.

      2. 1 Peter 5:8 “be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around…”

         4. The discipline of your mind comes as a direct result of the discipline you place on your eyes and ears. What you watch. What you listen to. Who you listen to.
         5. The desires of your former ignorance are what you wanted before you knew God. Here's how I'd apply that: they are the things in your life that you still hold as more valuable than your relationship to God.
         6. Question: what in your life do you still long for more than you long for holiness before God?
         7. Preference being greater than worship. Opportunities being greater than calling. Personal desires being greater than your relationship with God
         8. What in your life was redeemed when you said yes to Jesus?
         9. Holiness is not cleaning up your life so that you can come to God, holiness is loving God so much that you allow him to continue redeeming those parts of your life that are still broken.
         10. Be Holy, why? Who is Holy? God!

      3. “For I am the Lord your God, so you must consecrate yourselves and be holy because I am holy. Do not defile yourselves by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground.” - Leviticus 11:44 CSB

      4. “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.” - Ephesians 1:3-4 CSB

         11. Holiness on one hand separates you from sin and on the other hand brings deep connections with God
         12. Sanctification is the lifelong process that produces holiness in your life.
         13. 1. Make holiness your purpose

      5. “God has only one intended destiny for mankind—holiness. His only goal is to produce saints. God is not some eternal blessing-machine for people to use, and he did not come to save us out of pity—he came to save us because he created us to be holy.” - Oswald Chambers

         14. 2. Walk with the Spirit

      6. “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” - 1 Peter 1:2 CSB

         15. The Spirit: (A) exposes our sin so that we may confess and turn away from it, (B) illuminates Scripture so that we may understand its meaning and respond with obedience, and (C) points us back to the life of Jesus Christ as our source and foundation.
         16. The Spirit stands ready and willing to do this for you, which is why we must never “resist” (Acts 7:51) or “quench” (1 Thess. 5:19) the Spirit.

2. Live Purified Through Obedience

   1. 21 Through him you believe in God,who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly,
   2. Read Hebrews 11
   3. By faith they… it was their obedience by faith that shows us that “the world was not worthy of them”. They are considered the heroes of the faith. Why? Because they lived by faith! They heard from God and did what He said.
   4. Question: what is God telling you right now? What is He calling you to step out in faith and obey?
   5. You cannot change holiness apart from choosing obedience!
   6. You cannot clean your own house! Peter says we purify ourselves by obeying the truth, and he roots that in being born again (v23). The power comes from God.
   7. Trying to clean your own house will lead to moralism and leave you striving after an inheritance that will perish.
   8. Illust: cleaning my pits
   9. The goal is not moralism, but Jesus.
   10. Holiness is a result of a deep and intimate relationship with a holy God that transforms you from the inside out!

3. Feast On The Eternal Word Of God

   1. 23 because you have been born again—not of perishable seed but of imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.
   2. From a pure heart. How do we find the ingredients of living with purity? Through the living and enduring Word of God.
   3. Peter goes on to tell us to crave the Word like newborn babies crave milk (1 Peter 2:2). Are you hungry? What are you feasting on?
   4. The flesh, previous desires, worldly possessions fade, they rust, they rot, they are here one day and gone the next. But the Word of the Lord… is an everlasting bread. It’s the breath of God. It’s the infallible truth. It’s the source of truth.

   5. SOAP

      1. Scripture
      2. Observation
      3. Application
      4. Prayer
         6. ““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 9 “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, 11 so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.” 12 You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided; the mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will come up, and instead of the brier, a myrtle will come up; this will stand as a monument for the Lord, an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed.“ - Isaiah 55:8-13

Closing:

God is Holy. We see this attribute of God magnified in Isaiah 6:3

“And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.” - Isaiah 6:3 CSB

God’s holiness is a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY big deal!

And if we are to be holy, because He is holy. Then He’s calling us to this ultimate and really significant purpose.

You may be asking, what’s my purpose. Here it is… be holy.

“We must be careful to let the Holy Spirit do this searching. If we try to search our own hearts, we are apt to fall into one or both of two traps. The first is the trap of morbid introspection. Introspection can easily become the tool of Satan, who is called the "accuser" (Revelation 12:10). One of his chief weapons is discouragement. He knows that if he can make us discouraged and dispirited, we will not fight the battle for holiness. The second trap is that of missing the real issues in our lives.” - Jerry Bridges (Pursuit Of Holiness)

CHAT

Confession

Honor

Ask

Thank

You can’t clean your own house! God does the transformation from the inside out!

“Jesus, what do I need to confess?”

“How am I not bringing you honor?”